CREST International Spell Bee (CSB) 2026-27
CSB is the spelling olympiad that CREST Olympiads runs for Sr KG to Class 8. The summer round has two levels; the winter round has one.
When is CSB 2026-27?
Summer round, Level 1: 7 Jul 202611 Jul 2026
Winter round: 7 Jan 202716 Jan 2027
Summer round, Level 2: 4-5 Aug 2026 (held).
Online from home on a computer or laptop. Student books a slot between 11 AM and 7 PM IST, at least 2 days ahead.
How do I register my child, and what does it cost?
Parents register directly online, or through a school. Fee: ₹275 per subject (includes 2 online practice tests). Outside India: US$15 per subject.
What is in the paper?
Spell Bee section 55 minutes and Rapid Fire 5 minutes. Sr KG 45 minutes and Classes 1 and 2 60 minutes, no Rapid Fire. Negative marking: none in the summer round. Language: English.
What is the syllabus?
School syllabus as an outline. Some questions test advanced understanding.
The topics, class by class, as the organiser lists them:
Class 1
Animals · Birds · Animals - Homes, Young Ones, Sound · Colours · Body Parts · Food Items · Household Items · Occupation · Relationships · Trees/Plants/Flowers/Fruits · Clothing · Science · Adjectives · Verbs · Synonyms · Antonyms · Double Letter Words · Nouns · Miscellaneous
Class 2
Animals · Birds · Insects · Animals - Homes, Young Ones, Sound · Body Parts · Relationships · Food Items · Trees/Plants/Flowers/Fruits · Clothing · Everyday Items · Our Environment · Adjectives · Preposition/Adverbs · Verbs · Synonyms · Antonyms · Double Letter Words · Nouns · Miscellaneous
Class 3
Environment · Transport and Communication · Body · Sports · Emotions/Requests/Apology/Greetings · Quantity · Masculine and Feminine · Prefix · Suffix (age, ed, ied, ful, ly) · Adjectives · Adverbs · Verbs · Synonyms · Antonyms · Compound Words · Words with Silent Letters · Double Letter Words · Plurals · Evil Words (Words likely to be spelt incorrectly) · Nouns · Miscellaneous
Section 2: It's a Rapid Fire section wherein students would be required to listen to audio and write the spellings of the words.
Class 4
Education · Science and Technology · Clothing · Aquatic Life · Occupation · Sports · Transport and Communication · Nouns · Prefix · Suffix (able, al, ance, ant, ence, est, ful, ial, ion, ish, ize, less, ly, st) · Adjectives · Adverbs · Verbs · Synonyms · Antonyms · Compound Words · Words with Silent Letters · Double Letter Words · Masculine and Feminine · Evil Words (Words likely to be spelt incorrectly) · Miscellaneous
Section 2: It's a Rapid Fire section wherein students would be required to listen to audio and write the spellings of the words.
Class 5
STEM Words · Household Items · Agriculture · Government Affairs · Occupation · Words from Diary of a Wimpy Kid · Prefix · Suffix (able, age, al, ant, ate, cy, en, ful, ian, ic, ion) · Adjectives · Adverbs · Nouns · Verbs · Synonyms · Antonyms · Proverbs · Idioms · Compound Words · Homonyms & Homophones · Words with Silent Letters · Double Letter Words · Evil Words (Words likely to be spelt incorrectly) · Miscellaneous
Section 2: It's a Rapid Fire section wherein students would be required to listen to audio and write the spellings of the words.
Class 6
STEM Words · Professionals/Doctors · Government and Economy · Education · Words from Diary of a Wimpy Kid · Prefix · Suffix (acy, al, ary, gamy, hood, ial, ist, ment, ship) · Adjectives · Adverbs · Nouns · Verbs · Synonyms · Antonyms · Proverbs · Idioms · Compound Words · Homonyms & Homophones · Words with Silent Letters · Double Letter Words · Evil Words (Words likely to be spelt incorrectly)
Section 2: It's a Rapid Fire section wherein students would be required to listen to audio and write the spellings of the words.
Class 7
Section 1: Spell Bee Competition Words for Class 7: All the words for Level 1 and Level 2 will be from High School English Grammar and Composition from Wren and Martin book.
Section 2: It's a Rapid Fire section wherein students would be required to listen to audio and write the spellings of the words. This section will be based on the words from High School English Grammar and Composition from Wren and Martin.
Class 8
Section 1: Spell Bee Competition Words for Class 8: All the words for Level 1 and Level 2 will be from High School English Grammar and Composition from Wren and Martin book.
Section 2: It's a Rapid Fire section wherein students would be required to listen to audio and write the spellings of the words. This section will be based on the words from High School English Grammar and Composition from Wren and Martin.
Syllabus topics and a sample question for your child's class:
Is there a Level 2, and who goes?
Two levels (summer round). Winter round one level.
- Top 55.56% of each class in Level 1
- Nursery to Class 1: 60% or more
Cut-off: Published for each declared exam on CREST's Awards and 'Cut-off & Ranking Criteria' pages. Ranks are given in 5 zones: East, West, North, South and International.
How does my child get the admit card?
No admit card: the exam is online. Log in to the CREST dashboard and book a slot at least 2 days ahead. The 'Click To Take Exam' button opens 10 minutes before the slot. Changing a slot costs ₹40.
Is there an official CSB answer key?
Shown only on fixed dates: summer Level 1, 14-15 Jul 2026. Summer Level 2, 7-8 Aug 2026. Winter round, 19-20 Jan 2027. A question can be challenged on the answer-key page for ₹125, refunded if the challenge is right.
When do results come, and what can my child win?
Level 1 results within 10 days of the last Level 1 answer-key date (where there is a Level 2). Final results within one month of the last answer-key date.
- Nursery to Class 1: 60% or more in the final exam: Star Medal and Merit Certificate
- Classes 2 to 12: international top 3 per class and subject: Achiever's Trophy
- School top 3 (schools with 25 or more students in a class): Gold Medal
- 96 percentile and above or zonal ranks 1 to 10: Gold Medal
- 93 to 96 percentile: Silver Medal
- 90 to 93 percentile: Bronze Medal
- Top 25%: Merit Certificate
- Top 25 to 50%: Honourable Mention
- Every online participant: digital certificate
Where can I find CSB sample papers and previous year papers?
A free trial test (Practice Test 1), the same as the real exam, after logging in. Olympiad Owl does not share the papers themselves. Our class pages above have a free sample question each, and the app has full mock papers in the previous year paper pattern.
Anything else to know?
Nursery to Class 1: a parent or teacher may help the child understand the question. Answer keys come out on fixed dates and can be challenged.
How can my child prepare for CSB?
A few questions a day in the real pattern, and one full timed paper a week, works better than a last-minute rush.
From CREST's own website, 25 Oct 2026.
Olympiads compared
Every olympiad date for 2026-27